Adjustable ink supply device in rotary printing presses



5, 1967v R. E. RYTTERHOLM 3,339,485

ADJUSTABLE INK SUPPLY DEVICE IN ROTARY PRINTING PRESSE$ Filed June 14, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 p 1967 R. E. RYTTERHOLM ADJUSTABLE lNK SUPPLY DEVICE IN ROTARY PRINTING PRESSES 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 14, 1965 ADJUSTABLE INK SUPPLY DEVICE IN ROTARY PRINTING PRESSES 4 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 14, 1965 p 1957 R. E. RYTTERHOLM ADJUSTABLE INK SUPPLY DEVICE IN ROTARY PRINTING PRESSES 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 14, 1965 FIG. 5

United States Patent 3,339,485 ADJUSTABLE INK SUPPLY DEVICE IN ROTARY PRINTING PRESSES Rune Evert Rytterholm, Vallingby, Sweden, assignor to AB Bonnierforetagen, Stockholm, Sweden, a corporation of Sweden Filed June 14, 1965, Ser. No. 463,627 Claims priority, application Sweden, June 15, 1964,

' 7,268/64 2 Claims. (Cl. 101363) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An inking device for a printing roller has an ink trough one wall of which is formed by the rotary printing roller. The ink is fed to the trough from a presusre ink source to a distribution chamber which opens through a number of holes into the trough. A level sensing device controls the supply of ink to the trough so that the level therein is maintained constant. Two overlapping and slid. able strips provided with holes and secured to the side pieces of the trough form the separating wall between the distribution chamber and the trough.

The present inventionrelates to inking devices of the kind used for rotary printing presses and comprises a longitudinal back piece, two side pieces and a ductor blade forming together with a ductor roller a trough for the ink to be supplied onto said roller.

The general object of the invention is to provide an inking device of the kind under consideration particularly for ink of the thixotropic kind which has a relatively heavy consistency.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inking device of the kind referred to in which the level of the ink in the trough is held substantially constant.

Still another object of the invention is to so construct the device that the ink is evenly distributed along the whole width of the trough between the side pieces without the aid of manual operation.

A still further object of the invention is to so construct the device that the volume of the trough will be adjustable to the smallest volume necessary so as to obtain a relatively high rate of flow of ink in order to minimize the possibility of oxidation of the free upper surface of the ink in the trough.

The basic feature of the inking device for obtaining the above and other objects is that said back piece has a longitudinally extending internal chamber provided with an inlet for receiving ink from a source under pressure through an inlet duct including a valve controlled by a device sensing the level of the ink in the trough and being provided to close said valve when the ink reaches a predetermined level and to open said valve when the ink level is lowered below said predetermined level, and that an outlet is provided in the front side of said back piece and opens to said trough along substantially the whole length thereof between said side pieces to evenly distribute the ink into said trough.

Accordingly, the device according to the invention does not require any manual operation. Due to the fact that the outlet is preferably in the form of a number of relatively narrow openings the usually thixotropic ink is made more homogeneous when it is pressed by the relatively high pressure out into the internal chamber and further when it is distributed to flow out through the outlet openings. The outlet opening may also be in the form of a narrow longitudinal slit in the front wall of the back piece.

When desired the side pieces may be adjustable along the back piece to be set at a desired distance from each ice other. Accordingly, the volume and the effective length of the trough may be adjusted to the value required. This means that the volume of the trough can be held relatively small in certain cases which is advantageous since this reduces the free surface of the ink exposed to the ambient atmosphere and thence oxidation and formation of so called skin on the surface is reduced. A small volume in the trough also increases the rate of circulation of ink which further reduces the possibility of skin formation. The quality of the ink fed to the ductor roller will accordingly be high and the even distribution will result in an even supply of ink all over the eifective length of the ductor roller.

These and various other objects and advantages derived from the invention will be readily understood from the following description of a suitable embodiment of the invention shown by way of example in the accompanying drawmgs.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic partially broken perspective view of the inking device, FIG. 2 is a cross section along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, FIG 3 is an exploded view of one of the side pieces and associated details, FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic cross section through the inking device in FIG. 1 in combination with a ductor roller and an ink level sensing device of the photoelectric type, and FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the inking device with an ink level sensing device in the form of an ultra sonic device having a vibrating diaphragm sensing the ink level in a manner known per se.

With reference to the drawings the back piece 10 and the side pieces 12, 13 are supported by the inclined ductor blade 14 which is carried by a frame, not shown. The blade 14 has a forward edge forming a scraper edge adjustable relative to the ductor roller 27 (FIG. 4) for controlling the supply of ink onto the roller.

In the front side of the back piece there is a longitudinal slot 15 which has an upper side 16, a lower side 17 and a bottom 18. In the upper and lower sides are longitudinal grooves 19, 20 for two metal strips 21, 22 overlapping each other and connected each with one of the side pieces respectively. The strips 21, 22 are spaced apart to form an intermediate chamber 23, connecting the through flow openings 24, 25 in the two strips with each other. The strips 21 and 22 are sealed to each other at their free ends by the tongues 21' and 22'. The through flow openings may have any desired shape. As will be seen from FIG. 1 there is a relatively great number of openings 24, 25 which are evenly distributed over the whole length of the respective strip in order to obtain an even distribution of the ink.

Each side piece has a recess 26 (FIG. 3) for a slide piece 28 sliding against the ductor roller 27 (FIG. 4) and which is pivotally journalled on a pin (not shown) extending through a hole 29 in the slide piece 28. On its rear side the side piece 12 is formed with a projection 30 which fits into the slot 15. One end of the respective strips 21 and 22 is secured to the projection 30. A sealing plate 31 is slid able in the grooves 19, 20. On the outer side of the plate 31 is secured a sealing piece 32 fitting in the slot 15 and together with the sealing plate 31 forming an end wall in the slot 15. Accordingly, an internal chamber is formed in the front side of the back piece by the groove 15, the strips 21, 22, the plates 31 and the pieces 32. A sealing plate 33 of elastic material is by means of a plate 34 and a screw 35 secured to the end of the sealing piece 32. A screw 36 extends through the sealing piece 32, the sealing plate 31 and the strip 21 in order to secure them to each other and to the side piece 12 as will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 3.

Approximately in the middle between the end of the back piece 10 there is an inlet 37 to which is connected a pipe 44 (-FIG. 5) for supply of ink under pressure. The supply is controlled by an electromagnetic valve 43 (FIG. 5) which is controlled by a level sensing device. In FIG. 4 the level sensing device is of the known photoelectric type 38 having a lamp which directs a light beam 40 against the upper free surface 39 of the ink in the trough formed by the back piece 10, the side pieces 12, 13, the ductor plate 14 and the ductor roller 27. The deflected light beam will reach a photoelectric cell 41 when the level is at a predetermined position in which the level sensing device shuts off the valve 43. When the level is lowered the device 38 receives impulses which will open the valve 43 until the ink level has reached its predetermined height.

111 FIG. 5 the level sensing device is in the form of an ultra sonic device 41 of a known type having vibrating diaphragm at its bottom. When the ink level reaches this bottom, the pulses transmitted from the device 41 will be transformed in the amplifier and relay box 42 to close the valve 43. The above indicated level sensing devices are known per se.

The inking device according to the invention has been described in the form of having adjustable side pieces but it should be understood that these side pieces can be fixed when there is no need for adjustment of the distance between the side pieces.

What I claim is:

1. An inking device comprising a longitudinal back piece, two side pieces and a'bottom plate defining the back, sides and bottom respectively of an ink trough, the front wall of the trough being formed by a rotary printing roller adapted to sealingly fit with the forward surfaces of said side pieces and the forward edge of said bottom plate, said back piece having a longitudinally extending internal chamber having an inlet for receiving ink from a source under pressure, said inlet being associated with a valve controlled by a device sensing the level of ink in the trough and being provided to close said valve when the ink reaches a predetermined level and to open said valve when the level decreases below said predetermined level, said internal chamber being formed by a groove in the front side of the back piece closed at its open front by two overlapping strips provided with through holes and being slidably and sealingly guided in grooves in the upper and lower walls of said groove each of the strips being substantially less in extent than the back piece and, one of said strips being secured to one of said side pieces which is slidable in the internal chamber to form one end wall thereof, and the other of said strips being secured to the other side piece which is also slidable in the internal chamber to form the other end wall thereof.

2. A device as defined in claim 1, in which said strips are spaced apart to form an intermediate chamber therebetween, said strips being at their ends opposite to the ends connected to the side pieces sealed relative each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,158,334 10/1915 Thompson 101210 2,960,678 11/1960 Beard et al. 7329O 3,051,125 8/1962 Ahara et al 118-407 3,115,433 12/1963 Eolkin et al 1187 3,170,479 2/1965 Mueller 137-392 3,229,683 1/1966 Russell et al 137-592 ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner.

H. DINITZ, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN INKING DEVICE COMPRISING A LONGITUDINAL BACK PIECE, TWO SIDE PIECES AND A BOTTOM PLATE DEFINING THE BACK, SIDES AND BOTTOM RESPECTIVELY OF AN INK TROUGH, THE FRONT WALL OF THE TROUGH BEING FORMED BY A ROTARY PRINTING ROLLER ADAPTED TO SEALINGLY FIT WITH THE FORWARD SURFACES OF SAID SIDE PIECES AND THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM PLATE, SAID BACK PIECE HAVING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING INTERNAL CHAMBER HAVING AN INLET FOR RECEIVING INK FROM A SOURCE UNDER PRESSURE, SAID INLET BEING ASSOCIATED WITH A VALVE CONTROLLED BY A DEVICE SENSING THE LEVEL OF INK IN THE TROUGH AND BEING PROVIDED TO CLOSE SAID VALVE WHEN THE INK REACHES A PREDETERMINED LEVEL AND TO OPEN SAID VALVE WHEN THE LEVEL DECREASES BELOW SAID PREDETERMINED LEVEL, SAID INTERNAL CHAMBER BEING FORMED BY A GROOVE IN THE FRONT SIDE OF THE BACK PIECE CLOSED AT ITS OPEN FRONT BY TWO OVERLAPPING STRIPS PROVIDED WITH THROUGH HOLES AND BEING SLIDABLY AND SEALINGLY GUIDED IN GROOVES IN THE UPPER AND LOWER WALLS OF SAID GROOVE EACH OF THE STRIPS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS IN EXTENT THAN THE BACK PIECE AND, ONE OF SAID STRIP BEING SECURED TO ONE OF SAID SIDE PIECES WHICH IS SLIDABLE IN THE INTERNAL CHAMBER TO FORM ONE END WALL THEREOF, AND THE OTHER OF SAID STRIPS BEING SECURED TO THE OTHER SIDE PIECE WHICH IS ALSO SLIDABLE IN THE INTERNAL CHAMBER TO FORM THE OTHER END WALL THEREOF. 